What You Do for a Partner
by Niger Aquila
Summary: Five years is a long time, and they have both changed.


A/N: This is me trying to capture the change in dynamics between my very first character in the game and his very first companion.

A little background: My agent never married Kaliyo (even though he did flirt with her from time to time), but for some reason he got the 'romanced' version of Chapter X. I decided to play through it anyway and the story worked beautifully.

* * *

 **1.**

"So, we set the trap," Kaliyo began the moment they returned to the Phantom.

Zev nodded. "Now we wait for our target to show up tomorrow."

"That means we can do whatever until then, right?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Got any suggestions?"

"Oh, you tell me, agent."

He smirked and pulled her close, kissing her. She kissed him back. The usual seduction route. Nothing more.

This relationship of theirs only lasted for as long as they remained useful to each other. They both knew that. Kaliyo found him entertaining. Zev needed someone who could hold their own in a fight, improvise if need be, and get the job done. And so he kept her entertained.

He would have preferred having someone who was loyal to the Empire by his side, especially since they were hunting terrorists, but it had worked out. They made a good team. Far better than he had originally thought.

 **2.**

He should have expected her to betray him.

No, he _had_ expected her to betray him. Of course he had. What he hadn't expected was how much it hurt.

It was a matter of timing, he knew. There used to be a time when he would have simply executed her on the spot for betraying the Empire and moved on. Back when she was the only one on his team and all he cared about was completing his missions. Back when he wasn't quite so tired of being used, and his mind wasn't quite so broken. He had regained control, but the wound was still there. It always would be, he suspected.

He looked back at Kaliyo, who was glaring at him and his raised rifle as though he was the one at fault. He couldn't pull the trigger, he knew. Not like this. Not yet another bitter conclusion ended with betrayal.

He was so damn tired of betrayal.

An absurd notion, really, when his job was all about lies and manipulation. But it was the truth, and the one person he always tried to be truthful to was himself.

He lowered his rifle, turned away, and started to walk back to the Phantom. A part of his fractured mind was convinced Kaliyo would shoot him in the back.

He kept walking. A moment later, she followed.

 **3.**

Zev knew better than to jump to conclusions before knowing all the facts, but he could think of only one reason for Kaliyo to be on Zakuul, planting explosives and manipulating its citizens into working for her. She wasn't here for profit or for excitement. This was an act of vengeance, pure and simple.

The harder question was what Zakuul had done to her. Zev was almost reluctant to ask, but the more she spoke, the more obvious the answer became.

"Are you here to avenge my death?" He couldn't quite mask the disbelief in his voice. Not from someone who knew him as well as Kaliyo did, in any case. "Is that what this is about?"

If he was right, she would deny it. If he was wrong, she would try to take advantage of his mistake.

"Don't be stupid," she snapped. "I lost a lot of stuff when Zakuul rampaged through the galaxy. Not just you."

She went on to talk about her plan and led the way to her apartment. He followed.

A lifetime ago, he would have filed this exchange away for future use. Now, he just wanted to fix this mess.

 **4.**

In the Shrine of Healing on Voss, when he was asked about his plan for the future, Zev had said he would be whoever he needed to be to protect the people in the Empire. Some time between his being frozen in carbonite and his arrival on Odessen, he had dropped the "in the Empire". He would be whoever he needed to be to save as many lives as he could. And if it meant being a leader, then so be it.

Being the leader of the Alliance also meant trusting the people he was working with. He was expected to believe in them. No acting. No second-guessing. No assuming they would stab him in the back as soon as he let down his guard. Considering his training and what he had been through in the past, he found the transition into this new mindset disturbingly easy. He wondered if it meant he was healed, or more broken than before. He didn't really care anymore.

And so when he stood before Kaliyo in her apartment and realised he had no idea what to do, he decided to fall back on his default these days. No acting. No second-guessing. She was a friend. Someone who, despite everything, he knew would watch his back.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," he said. For perhaps the first time in their entire association, he spoke to her with complete sincerity. "Not by dying, and not by coming back."

"I didn't say hurt," said Kaliyo. "I said humiliated."

"Then what do you want from me?" he asked.

She pulled him forward and pressed her lips against his. Hungry. Possessive. And _real_.

She let go of him and turned away. "Nothing you can do."

 **5.**

"Agent."

Kaliyo was at a table by the corner of the cantina. She looked pleased.

"Surprised to see me?" said Zev, sliding into the seat next to her.

"Surprised that those morons let you leave," she said. "You owe me a drink, by the way."

"I came all the way to Nar Shaddaa to help you out, and I still owe you a drink?"

It had taken two weeks for the general population on Odessen to learn to keep Kaliyo away from the Sabacc tables. By that point, she declared she was bored and left to take care of some old business, and apparently got herself into trouble. Zev suspected she could take care of it on her own and had only called him to see if he would come. She knew he felt guilty about abandoning her for five years and turning her down, and would no doubt take full advantage of it.

Well, as long as this did not become a habit.

Besides, the less time Kaliyo spent on Odessen, the better it was for everyone. Zev really didn't want to know what she had been telling Lana about him, or to hear Koth complaining about his men's missing clothes _again_ , or to even think about what R'bik the crazy Jawa was planning to do with his newly acquired explosives.

He leaned back and stretched out his legs. "So, Kaliyo, who did you betray this time?"


End file.
